Conversation
by LilyBartAndTheOthers
Summary: It was just a shoe box, a simple shoe box.


_It was a shoe box. A little black shoe box. We all own one, lost in a cupboard. Under a ton of clothes. Safety. Worn-out through the years, faded. We couldn't live without it because it countains all our memories. The most important. The ones we don't want to forget. A letter, a shingle, a picture.  
A picture… I was looking for a jacket when I found it. I immediately stopped moving. Laughing while they were waiting for me in the living. I just looked at it. A few seconds. I didn't touch it. Not right away. It was his box. His secrets. His life. His whole person. Who he really was.  
I sat down on the ground, checked I was alone and took it. There was some postcards, a pencil, a small wooden toy. All from his childhood I thought so. And pictures. Old ones. In black and white. The seaside, a bike, a dog. Children. I smiled. Time passes through but memories stay. And I saw them. Under the postcards. Hidden.  
Five pictures. One of the whole of us, together._

_And four of me._

_I guess I've been afraid. So I put back the box in the cupboard. Quickly. Confused. And I left the room._

_I was still married. Not in love but married. Happy ? Only when I was with them. With him. I knew that. I perfectly knew that and what it really meant. But you'll see, sometimes things don't happen as you'd like they do. That's life.  
He was my friend. One of my best friends. No more. I looked at him, sat next to Grace in the living. I didn't hear any sound around me, I didn't notice any movement. I was captivated and astonished. « Are you okay, Karen ? » I frowned and came back to reality. I vaguely smiled and put aside my thoughts. As much as I could._

_« Yes, Wilma. »_

_If he knew…_

_If he knew I had just found out the secret of his soul._

_Life must go on. And so we did. But something had happened. That evening. This box. Wherever I was, whatever I was doing, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Those four pictures he kept with him. Of me.  
One day two federal agents came to the office. My husband had been arrested. I felt guilty. Because of that freedom and relief on my heart while hearing the news. I tried to convince myself I was going to miss the man I was married. The right wife. I wanted to be this woman. I had to. And so I did.  
I knew it was all wrong. So false. Never try to hide your feelings, sweetie. Never. That's the worst thing you can do. Accept them as they are. And deal with them. It's the only way to be happy. Believe me. And don't do what I did.  
As he was my lawyer… Did I tell you he was ? Of course I did. I can't stop speaking about him anyway. Well so circumstances made us be closer. We began to spend more time together. He helped me so much. As I needed. I had to be in charge of so many things that his presence and the confidence I had in him were reassuring. Jack and Grace were there too of course. But there was Karen and Grace. Karen and Jack._

_And Karen and Will._

_We learnt a lot from each other during that period. A lot. While being alone, together, we were confidents. Soulmates. But still distant. Like friends. After all it was what we were._

_He didn't know I had found his box. He didn't know I knew about his feelings. For me. Nor mine. For him._

_My marriage was over. For a very long while. Before the jail and all the story. It was obvious. But I was still pretending. And looking for an issue meanwhile.  
I was in love with him. With my friend, Will. He loved me too. Look at me ! I'm still smiling while thinking about it now. Love…_

_I could have died for him. A simple look. A smile. The least sign of care. A word. All the evidence were there, waiting for the right time. The first step._

_Shelter Island. Valentine's Day Party._

_I used to do the spotlight dance with my husband. Every year. But the last events had decided to change the rules and I was alone.  
I lay. We fought. He stormed out._

_But he came back and danced with me. And during those three minutes I forgot the rest. The situation, people looking at us. There was just him and I.  
Will and Karen._

_It was two o'clock in the morning. The party was over but we wanted it last. Over and over. So we went till the beach and walked in silence. My hand in his. Smiling peacefuly. We stopped when we arrived to a small creek and sat down. Listening to the ocean and the murmur of the night. The moon in the sky._

_I shivered. He put a blanket we had taken on my shoulders. We looked at each other._

_The right time._

_The first step._

_We leaned our heads and closed our eyes while our lips joining in what it would be our very first kiss. The real one. Sincere.  
The heat of our souls finding at last that peace we had been looking for so long._

_I knew it was what I wanted for the rest of my life. That smile I saw when I woke up in his arms the next morning. On that beach. It was where I had to be. The right place. The right person._

_The only one.  
We didn't pretend that long, then . We just wanted it to be._

_Will and Karen.  
Karen and Will._

_It was in February. Eight months ago. Just eight months… While it feels like eternity for me. Eternal. Like our love. Our story.  
The story of your…_

_« Hum… Karen ? »_

_She stopped speaking and turned her face. « Hi, Gracie. Come in ! » Her friend sat next to her and gave her a smile. « Will told me you were here. Having a rest. Are you ready ? » She nodded. « Yes… But if you could help me… » Grace stood up quickly and helped her friend to do the same. « Oh sure ! » Karen smiled, shyly. « Thank you, Gracie. »_

_They walked to the door but Grace stopped suddenly. « Karen… » Her friend looked at her and raised her eyebrows, waiting for the question. « Do you think… » Grace was confused. « Do you think… He can hear us talking ? »_

_Karen looked away for a few seconds. She plunged her eyes in her friend's ones and caressed with her hand her eight-month-pregnant stomach. « Or she… » She smiled at Grace. « Well… Yes, I guess. »_

_They left the room, Karen's hand still on her own stomach._

_The story of your father and your mother. Your story._


End file.
